Any good Wico experiences?

[ericball]

I've read all of the horror stories, thanks; but has anyone had a good experience ordering from Wico directly?

I would love to have leaf buttons in my cabinet and I can justify spending $2 each from Wico (versus $1.50 for the Happ buttons from Bob Roberts) but I can't justify paying $4.70 for them from Bob Roberts.

(The real cheap alternative is the $0.50 each black buttons from X-Arcade.)

[spidermonkey]

I'm pretty sure the $2.00 each price you got from Wico's catalog is probably for the button only. You also need the button holder, leaf switch and the pal nut to attatch the whole assembly to your cp. Some leaf switch button holders have the leaf switch built right in. Some of the older ones you have to attach a leaf switch to them using the provided screw. The bottom line is a leaf switch push button comes in three sometimes four pieces depending on the type of button holder and I'm willing to bet that if you add all those peices up the total price from Wico will be higher then Bobs price. I'm pretty sure Bob sells them complete rather then in individual pieces like Wico does. I bought my translucent leaf switch buttons from Centsible Amusements for $4.00 and change complete which is the average going rate. Leaf style buttons are *always* more expensive then microswitch buttons but I grew up using them so its worth it to me.

[SirPoonga]

I bought my buttons and tball rollers from them.  Minimum order of $25 if I remember.  Went well.

[OSCAR]

I've ordered from them quite a few times, and I'd have to honestly say about 50% of my orders came through without a hitch.  But it's that other 50% that I really don't have time to mess around with.  It took too much of my time following up on orders, getting replacement parts that were shipped wrong or not shipped at all, and various other problems, so I don't deal with them anymore.

[slycrel]

  My one experience with them was mixed.

  I ordered a ton of buttons from them, a button wrench, and some speaker grills.

  They sent me the order after 3ish weeks.  They were "out of stock" on the button wrench and I've never gotten it to this day.

  They messed up on some of the button colors from my order so I called them up and told them about it.  They let me keep the buttons and sent me the correct color free of charge.

  FYI, the blue buttons they sent me suck rocks.  They didn't fit the nuts very well and one of them was broken when I got it, apparently in shipping.

  Not a great experience, but I got a few free buttons out of it.  

[ericball]

I'm pretty sure the $2.00 each price you got from Wico's catalog is probably for the button only.

From the awful online catalog http://www.wicothesource.com/new2/pics/page87.jpg and the near useless online price list http://www.wicothesource.com/new2/pricing/internet price.htm it looks like I need the following:

22-1040-xx Long button     @ 0.49
22-1052      Button holder assembly   @ 1.35
1160-092-1 Pal Nut         @ 0.10

versus Bob Roberts:
Leaf sw button only long    @ 1.50
Leaf sw & holder      @ 3.00
Leaf sw pal nuts      5 @ 1.00

PS: There is a much improved online Gaming catalog, but it doesn't have the buttons.

[JoyMonkey]

I've ordered from Wico 3 times and haven't had any problems (luckily it seems). I started off calling the number listed on the website, the guy I talked to didn't seem like the smartest guy in the world, but after I emailed the first order my local sales rep called (they have a guy that deals with orders in New England alone) and he has been very helpful.  You might want to call and see if there's a local sales guy in your area, then talk to him.

[Lilwolf]

Well... if you ever consider giving money to good causes / companies.

Bob Roberts is the king in great service for parts.

But my question is this...

Is there a difference between the the wico and the happs leaf switches?

There might be a reason that wicos are so cheap.

[FractalWalk]

Is there a difference between the the wico and the happs leaf switches?

Wico button holder assemblies do not have a spacer built on to them.  From Bob Robert's pictures, his does.

[ericball]

Is there a difference between the the wico and the happs leaf switches?

I don't think Bob Robert's leaf buttons are Happ.  If there is a Happ part number for leaf switches & pushbuttons, I can't find it.

Wico button holder assemblies do not have a spacer built on to them.  From Bob Robert's pictures, his does.

You may be correct, but since I'm mounting them on a wood panel I shouldn't need the extra height.  I fully expect to have to shim or hack them anyway.  The Wico assembly costs less than ordering the leaf switches alone!

[spidermonkey]

Well.. it does look like their leaf button assemblies are a bit cheaper then Bob's (which is *very* surprizing) but be warned that Wico is pretty much a joke compared to the company that it used to be. They've really let their customer relations dept go to $hit. I myself would still rather give Bob the business even if he does charge a bit more per button. I say this because my dealings with Bob have been nothing but pure pleasure as his customer service and his trust in his customers is second to none. He operates like an old time Ma & Pa business and you just can't find that kind of trouble free customer service anymore. A while back I ordered a Mallory "big blue capasitor" and few packs of slow blow fuses for my Asteroids machine and I actually received my parts before I even mailed the money order out yet ! He knew I was anxious to get it working and didn't want me to have to wait. Plus he sent me a very nice keychain as a gift for choosing to do business with him. He quite often does send small gifts along with people's orders just to show his apprieciation. The only thing Wico has ever sent me was incorrect items and headaches plus their billing dept tried to bill me for an item I had already paid for. . I tried ordering a catalog from them *three* times. The third time the guy appologized for the mix up and said he would send it out immediately. That was back in Oct 03 and I'm still waiting for it. All I can tell you is expect problems if you order from Wico then you won't be surprized if problems do arise.
Good luck with your order and let us know how it turned out.

[FractalWalk]

You may be correct, but since I'm mounting them on a wood panel I shouldn't need the extra height.

I mounted the short buttons on 1/2" plywood and still needed the extra height.  Luckily I found some washers that worked perfectly otherwise I would have had to make my own spacers.

[FractalWalk]

I just got home from work today and a UPS package was on my doorstep. I wasn't expecting anything and so I was a little curious. Then I thought, "MY NEW TOKENS ARE HERE!".  I ripped open the package and saw 2 sets of speaker grilles from WICO. The only problem is that ordered them 6 months ago!

I ordered them in January with some other stuff and the grilles were back-ordered. Actually I am assuming that they were back-ordered as there was no explanation other than a packing slip that said order qty 2, shipped 0.  The rest of my order was mostly wrong ( I ordered long leaf switch buttons and got short, I ordered 24 switches and got 12).  

I assumed that I was not going to get my speakers and so I bought some them from another source, but lo & behold here they are.  I wonder how they are going to charge me for them as the credit card I gave them in January expired in June.

[ericball]

Well, I talked it over with the CFO; laid my cards on the table; and she okayed ordering from Wico.  So I called, got passed over to Andrea (cause I'm shipping to Ohio?), and ordered 16 long transparent blue buttons with matching button holder assemblies and pal nuts.  I'm having them sent to my Grandmother in Cleveland (whom I will be seeing in late August) to reduce shipping costs (which would have added an extra $10-$15 to the cost).

[RayB]

Great. Let's see how many buttons you actually get.  

[FractalWalk]

$10 says you get short buttons.

[ericball]

Great. Let's see how many buttons you actually get.  

Well, I talked to my grandmother last night and the package arrived... with all 16 buttons!

$10 says you get short buttons.

This question will have to wait until I get there.  But since Wico doesn't offer short transparent blue buttons, you probably owe me $10.

[FractalWalk]

But since Wico doesn't offer short transparent blue buttons, you probably owe me $10.

They don't offer them but that's what they sent me!